Life After Death
by LightHawk
Summary: The tale of Shadow's survival. PostSA2. AU. TikalShadow. R
1. Hard Landing

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters are the copyrighted material of Sonic Team and SEGA. These characters are used without permission without the intent of compensation for my time and effort.

_Italics are thoughts._

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**Life After Death**

**Chapter 1**

**Hard Landing**

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It did not start out as a good day. It would seem to be the running joke for the next few chapters of Shadow the Hedgehog's life. Awareness returned to him slowly, and with it came the sharp pains of many injuries. He dared not open his eyes, for fear of what he might see, or not as the case might be. He lay like that for a few minutes as he grew accustomed to the feeling of the surface below him, and the gentle sounds around him.

At first, he simply tried to move his extremities, starting with his toes and working his way up. Satisfied that , at the very least, he wasn't a parapalegic, he finally decided that all this laying about was getting him nowhere fast. First, one eye cracked open, then a second. Blurry shapes swam in front of him and he quickly closed his eyes again, and groaned aloud when the nausea hit him.

Hurried footsteps made themselves known to the ebony hedgehog's ears, and he turned slightly towards the sounds. He felt someone kneel down beside him, and shied away when he felt someone begin to rest their hands across him.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to help."

The voice was sweet and mellow, quite pleasing to his ears. He once again felt light hands touch his arm, but he fought back his urge to recoil. He could almost see the smile on her face.

"Can you open your eyes?"

Shadow was quite sure he shook his head, but next he knew he was once again trying his best to peek out his eye. Once again, all he saw was a blurry shape, but at least it had color.

His orange healer reached down and closed his eyes for him before helping him sit up. Aches and pains flared up as soon as she began the simple process of lifting him. Slowly but surely, his torso rose until she cradled him.

"Drink."

Shadow felt hard lip of a water skin press against his mouth. Suddenly, he realized that his throat felt like it hadn't had water for days, and he opened his mouth quite willingly. Cool refreshing liquid seeped into his mouth, and he greedily drank it up. When the skin finally left his lips, he was feeling quite refreshed.

"Thirsty, weren't ya?"

Shadow nodded in reply, and managed a raspy "Thank you.". He only heard a rustle of clothing as his response. She lowered him back to the ground with much difficulty, and much pain on his part. When his back once more rested against the ground, those delicate hands began softly probing him once again.

"Now that you're awake, I'm going to check you for anymore injuries. Is there anywhere in particular that it hurts?"

Shadow had half a mind to respond that it hurt everywhere, but decided that really wouldn't help his situation at all. He merely lifted an arm, which in itself was agonizing, and pointed towards his chest. Immediately the hands were feeling along his ribcage, and it didn't take long for him to yelp in pain.

"I think most of your ribs are bruised, and maybe a few are cracked, but nothing is broken. Though that would explain why you're having trouble breathing."

"_You think?_!", Shadow thought angrily, but lay there gasping for breath. He tried to focus one more time on the face in front of him, but succeeded in only giving himself a splitting headache. This, couple with his earlier nausea, came back to haunt him as he felt his stomach heave. His caretaker quickly rolled him over while he emptied his stomach of what little was there. When what little substance ran out, his body continued convulsing, his dry heaves tearing at his damaged throat.

Finally, he stopped, and his nurse rolled him back over. Unfortunately, the exertion of vomiting had drained him, and he sank helplessly into unconciousness.

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A cool, damp cloth on his forehead awoke him some time later. He could not be sure of the time, mainly because of his lack of sight. With nothing better to do, he began assessing his numerous injuries. His arms felt like someone had shove thousands of needles into them, but the pain did little to deter him. His torso was wrapped tightly in cloth, as were some less serious injuries along his arms and legs.

When he had satisfied himself with a manual search, he decided it was time to try out his eyes again. Similar to last time, all he saw was colored blobs. Darkness above him, with fire silhoutted objects around him. The hedgehog decided silently that it was after dark. Wordlessly, he turned his head, feeling the many pops and cracks as the stiffness was forced from his body. When he had finally managed to regain full movement from his neck, he place his arms below him and lifted.

It took him some time to force his body up into a sitting position, and when he had finally accomplished it, he could feel sweat on his body. He hunched forward, attempting to even out his heavy breathing.

"I'm surprised you managed that."

The voice came as such a shock to Shadow that he almost fell backwards. As it was, he managed to steady himself and turn towards the calm voice. He could see the orange-ish blob seated nearby.

"Are you hungry? I made some stew while you were sleeping. Its not great, but it'll fill you up."

Shadow felt ravenous, but managed to stay composed while he nodded, and she immediately handed him a wooden bowl filled with steaming stew. In a testament to his normal speed, Shadow managed to finish off the food in record time. When he had his fill, he looked up once more towards the orange blob in his vision. She sat across the fire from him, barely visible from his view point. With his most intimidating voice, he set about conversing with his anonymous caretaker.

"Where am I?"

The voice that left his throat was not his own. Instead, it sounded like a mouse had gained the ability to speak. He blushed at the small giggle that the good samaritan emitted.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to jest at your expense. To answer your question though, we are in the wilderness surrounding the Imperial City."

Shadow didn't have a clue as to where the Imperial City was; but this was understandable, considering his long time in cryogenic sleep and his isolation aboard the ARK before that. Deciding that seeking answers as to his whereabouts was pointless at this time, he set about another course of action.

"Who are you?"

The question, though simple enough, seemed to baffle the person it was directed at. It was impossible to tell what her facial expressions were, but the air seemed apprehensive. He prodded once more.

"If you don't want to tell me, then just say so."

"N-no. I'm sorry, it's just that I'm a little uneasy around strangers. My name is Tikal."

Satisfied with her answer, he felt obligated to return the courtesy.

"Shadow."

They fell silent for some time before she began the dialogue anew.

"Tell me about yourself Shadow, and why you were lying in that crater."

Anxiety was one of the few things he had ever experienced in his life before, but it began creeping back on him with her words. Thinking hurriedly, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm a vagabond. I've been wandering the world for years, and I'm not sure if I'll ever stop. As for that crater, I don't really remember how I ended up in there."

"_Amnesia, how original. Like that'll fly._"

Amazingly, however, she seemed to accept this quite readily. When she didn't ask him another question for some time, he decided that turnaround was fair play.

"How about you? Why don't you tell me about yourself."

Once again she seemed to tense up, and a red flag popped up in his mind's eye.

"_Once was believable, but this is the second time. She's hiding something. Though I can't say I'm much better._"

"I've lived in the Imperial City all my life. I'm a civil servant."

Shadow knew there was more to it than that, but decided that prying for information wasn't exactly the best way to repay her hospitality. Instead, he simply moved closer to the fire, seeking it's protection against the cold of the night. He fell asleep that night to the crackling of the fire.

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A/N: Well, as you can see I've restarted Life After Death. I reread what I had already written, and decided that it was total crap, considering that I wasn't keeping any sort of continuum. Well, I'll hopefully update this along with Phoenix Rising. Please, R&R. 


	2. Burning Embers

Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters are the copyrighted material of Sonic Team and SEGA. These characters are used without permission without the intent of compensation for my time and effort.

_Italics are thoughts._

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**Life After Death**

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**Chapter 2**

**Burning Embers**

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When conciousness next returned to Shadow, the warmth of the sun was upon his back. He lay there for a while, simply basking in the glow from Sol. He felt much better this morning, or perhaps afternoon. He decided that it really didn't matter. All he knew is that the stiffness and ache throughout his body was beginning to lessen. It still hurt to move, as he found out quickly, but it was quite an improvement.

The ebony hedgehog finally opened his eyes, and to his brief astonishment, his vision had almost returned to it's normal sharpness. He rubbed his eyes, banishing what little sleep had formed around his eyes in the night, and began the task of sitting upright. With much pride, it took little effort and pain to rise. Almost immediately he began to take in what poor vision had denied him yesterday.

For miles and miles all he saw was beautiful green forests and bright green plains. Nature was untouched here, completely isolated from any civilization. Turning, he saw that they were very close to the coast, sitting scant yards from the edge of a cliff as a matter of fact. He surveyed his surroundings with childlike wonder, finally seeing Earth up close, away from military bases and bustling cities.

"_So _this _is what Maria wanted to protect. I finally understand what she meant in those final minutes. How could I have been such a fool?_"

Shadow's eyes darkened momentarily as he silently berated himself. Fifty years of misundertanding and manipulation were finally behind him. But did he deserve this second chance? Millions of questions flew through his mind as his angst wridden monologue continued silently.

A short time later, the obsidian hedgehog was disrupted from his dire thoughts as a yawn arose behind him. He silently berated himself as he turned. The first thing he should have observed was his mysterious caretaker. The sight that greeted him was . . . unexpected.

All logical and rational thought processes stopped as he drank in his companion's appearance. Angelic was the only adjective that Shadow could come up with to describe her. She possessed beauty unlike any he had ever seen. He realized that his experience with the opposite sex was quite dismal, but he instinctively knew that the woman before was of unparalled loveliness.

She stretched and cleared the sleep from her eyes much as Shadow did, but much more gracefully in his opinion. She sat up and began rummaging through her pack as Shadow watched her. Vaguely, he realized that his staring was quite unbecoming of the Ultimate Life Form, but another part of his mind told him to stop being so high and mighty and drop down a level or two on the prude scale.

His rescuer, "_Tikal was her name, wasn't it?_", having found what she was searching for, turned round to look at him. Immediately, Shadow turned away, trying but failing quite miserably to look nonchalant. She giggled at the forced look upon his face, and he felt the heat rising to his cheeks and hoped that she couldn't see the blush forming on his face.

Luckily, she seemed not to notice, or didn't care, and proceeded to walk over towards him with a bowl full of berries and fruit. Immediately, his attention was focused on the edible gift, but he kept one eye on her. Quietly, Tikal walked back towards her sack, rummaged through it once more, and proceeded to walk off towards the forest, a bar of soap in her hand.

When she was out of sight, Shadow turned back scanned the surrounding area once more, searching for any of the few scant landmarks he might recognize from his small time spent on Earth. Sadly, he found none. He lay there for a short while before he decided to try and see if he could stand.

Surprisingly, standing only caused him a slight bout of nausea, as opposed to the forceful flops that his stomach had performed yesterday when he had tried to sit up. Testingly, he took a step, then another. Satisfied at his health, he set about finding some form of footwear. Mercifully, he his airskates nearby, blackened, but intact. With his belongings in proper order, he set off at a jog, hugging the coastline.

Jogging, however, sapped his energy at an alarming rate. He doubled back quickly after the relatively foreign sensation of fatigue swept over him. By the time he reached camp, he found that he could barely stand for the waves of exhaustion crashed over him. He stumbled the last few steps and collapsed on the soft ground below him.

Shadow was panting hard when he heard the sound of footsteps racing towards him. Once again he felt the soft touch of Tikal as she hoisted him once more into a sitting position. The canteen once again found it's way to his lips and he drank deeply. Almost immediately he could feel the water's soothing effects taking place. He could dimly hear his savior scolding him for such arrogance, but he ignored her.

Finally, she gently set him back down, though he could feel the air of frustration surrounding her. Visibly, she seemed calm, but he knew that she was quite irked with him. Surprisingly though, she managed to hide her feelings from her voice.

"Are you alright?"

He nodded weakly, his throat still quite dry from his jog.

"Do you think you can stand?"

He once again nodded, and set about raising himself. A dizzy spell seized him as he stood upright, but it quickly passed as he found his balance. He could feel her eyes on him as he wobbled slightly, but ignored her piercing stare.

Finally, the eyes burning holes in the back of his head moved their gaze. When he could no longer feel her watching him, he took up her abandoned watch. The tables turned, Shadow felt the need for a little conversation. Unwaranted fear suddenly raised many red flags at this amazing notion, and he had the feeling that a blush should be rising to his cheeks at this moment. Undaunted, he moved – albeit slowly – up to his rescuer.

"Was there anything else with me when you saved me?"

She turned, an inquizitive look on her features.

"It was dark when I pulled you from that crater. I might have missed something in my haste to save your life. It's just around that copse of trees to the east."

Her brusqueness elicited a small blush from the melancholy hedgehog, but he ignored it, hoping that his attitude would deter her from commenting on the obvious red tinge. He gave a quick snort, turned his back to her, and set off towards the landmark she had pointed out.

She was right. It was amazing that a creature of his size could cause such a depression in the ground. It had to be at least ten feet across, and a good three feet deep. Picking around it, he quickly found one of his gold bracelets, the other strangely missing. In the center though, a small mound had built up. He quickly dug into it, stopping only when he hit something solid. Yanking hard, he managed to extricate a precious jewel.

"_One of the most precious gems in the world. A Chaos Emerald!_"

He examined it quietly, holding it close as to hid it from the sight of prying eyes. Quickly, he discovered that it was, in fact, the Fake Emerald that Tails had created. He sighed with mild disappointment, but held onto it as he trudged back towards the camp. The short walk still tired him, and he plopped down just as the sun was reaching its zenith.

The smell of cooking reached his nostrils, and he deeply inhaled the heavenly scent. Tikal looked bemusedly up at him, and returned to her task. A quick glance into her cooking pot revealed a thin broth, much as what dinner was the night before. Before long, the stew was finished, and once again Shadow consumed his share with ravenous intensity. His hunger sated, the black hedgehog leaned back against one of the logs and started up conversation again.

"How long do you plan to stay out here?"

"I was waiting for you to be well enough to travel. If you're up to it, I think we can break camp tomorrow and head for the Imperial city."

"I'm well enough to travel."

He turned away as he said that, and began to study the Fake Emerald in earnest. It was exactly like a real Chaos Emerald; but whereas the light shining from the Chaos Emeralds had a heartbeat to it, the Fake Emerald's light shone without respite. Also, energy he siphoned from the Chaos Emeralds filled him with a warm feeling, while the Fake Emerald made his spine tingle.

"_Maybe I will test this Emerald out with Chaos Control. Better wait till I am back in top condition, though._"

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A/N: Took me long enough, eh? Well, I'm hoping this turns out well, considering this fic is already in a C2. Hate to disappoint the fans. R&R with things you notice about the fic. 


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